As Jason Kidd was preparing to make his home coaching debut, Jefferson was going through another NBA season, the 13th in a career that began with Kidd and the Nets in 2001.

“I made a joke, ‘Now he’s the rookie and I’m the vet,’ ” Jefferson said with a smile, before the Nets crushed the Jazz, 104-88, Tuesday night at Barclays Center. “I kind of enjoy that.”

Jefferson, who scored just two points and shot a miserable 1-for-7 in the Jazz’s loss, credited Kidd for his development from an athletic but raw rookie to the player who earned a $78 million contact extension from the Nets in 2004. The two were magic in transition together — Kidd racing from one end to the other, setting up Jefferson for crowd-pleasing alley-oop dunks. In 6 ¹/₂ seasons, Kidd and Jefferson led the Nets to a pair of NBA Finals, reached the playoffs six times and won the Atlantic Division on four occasions.

“I was joking about going left,” Kidd said, about his scouting report on the right-heavy Jefferson. “You talk about a great teammate … seeing his growth as a teammate and as a player, he made the game easy for me. He was always out on the right side looking for the ball so he could get a layup or free throws.

“I am happy to see him still playing at a high level. He is a veteran now and he has been on the successful side so he can help the young guys over there.”

Jefferson expects Kidd to thrive in his new role, just as he succeeded as a player.

“Jason Kidd is a guy that is going to work extremely hard to prove that he deserves that opportunity that was given to him,” Jefferson said. “He’s a guy that has succeeded in every opportunity that was given to him. I don’t see why this would be any different.

“We got 82 games to figure it out. … George Karl won Coach of the Year and got released last year. You can be a great coach and the situation might not be right.”